People Writing 1-Star Book Reviews Are a Special Kind of Terrible

Have you ever written a book? It seems like most people have, “Write a book,” inscribed somewhere on their bucket list, and it’s a worthy goal. The world needs good writers. Who of us hasn’t had their life changed by the words we read in a book?

Why don’t more people write books? Because the honest truth is that writing a book requires a lot of commitment, time, energy, sweat, and hard work. Getting the final pages published and out into the world can take years.

And then, some no hack idiot who can barely read a book decides to go and leave a 1-Star review. What’s worse, more often than not, that negative individual has not read the whole book. Many times they have not even started it.

Interning for a Writer

Last summer, I was trying to work from home and had the opportunity to work as a virtual assistant for a self-published author. The whole experience taught me a lot about just how much time and effort goes into getting that final manuscript together.

My author friend, whose name I can’t disclose due to a non-disclosure agreement, worked tirelessly on getting his book together. The first draft, which for him took a few years, was the easy part. Then came the first round of editing and hacking away at the masterpiece with a red pen.

I watched intently as the author agonized over cutting characters out of the book or scenes he was deeply attached to that just didn’t fit into the overall plan. It was not an easy process.

The Real Work Begins

Finally, the second draft was done. I read it, and although not perfect, it was pretty good. It was a book I would buy, read, and hang on to so I could read it again.

Still, the next step was to work with an outside editor. The manuscript then went through three rounds of edits.

With each round, my writer friend tirelessly worked on reviewing every single word, looking for plot or scene holes or for parts of the tale that didn’t move the story forward.

This process took months, and I got to see it all. Finally, after the third round, the book was mostly ready to be published. Still, the author wanted to be sure it was right, so he read through it again in its entirety two more times making final touches before it was published.

One Negative Woman

My time working with the author came to an end, but I still keep in touch and like to follow his progress. Imagine my surprise when I jumped on Amazon yesterday and saw that another new review was posted. What I read made my blood boil.

First, it was a 1-Star review, which I find hard to fathom in most cases. How truly awful does a book have to be to get one star?

But it got worse. The woman went on a tirade about how the author had no talent, could not write a coherent story, and that the book was the worst book she had ever read. She did disclose in the review that she did not read all of it.

To an author, a finished book is like a child. Years of blood, sweat, and tears have gone into its pages, and for someone to attack it can be crushing.

My rage boiled inside me throughout the day yesterday. I was afraid to reach out to the author for fear he hadn’t already seen the review, and I didn’t want to ruin his day.

There Are Lots of Idiots in the World

Finally, last night, I couldn’t stand it. I picked up the phone and called my friend. I started to tell him how angry I was, and to my surprise, he started laughing.

“How can you be laughing?” I wanted to know. “This angry woman is saying your book is the worst book ever.”

“Yes,” he laughed at me. “And she won’t be the last one. Bad reviews are part of the process.”

I couldn’t believe it. As a writer myself, my goal is to finish a manuscript this year and get it ready for publication. To read such unpleasant words, though, had me doubting everything about my future course.

“I’ll tell you what,” my author friend went on. “Take a few minutes and go on Amazon and read the reviews for some of your favorite books. You’ll see just how common this is.”

No Talent Writers

After I got off the telephone, I was still too upset to think about what my friend had told me. However, his words stuck with me and kept me awake most of the night.

Before the first rays of light this morning, I was out of bed and on Amazon determined to prove my friend wrong.

One of my favorite books is Sphere by Michael Crichton, so I started there. I couldn’t believe I found 1-star reviews stating the book was

“poorly written”

“boring and unimaginative”

“a disappointing mess” and

“so bad that it actually hurt me to continue reading.” (Really?!)

Okay, so science fiction isn’t for everyone, so I thought I’d try another more mainstream book. Everyone loves The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks, or so I thought. I headed over to its page next. Of the more than 2,000 reviews on Amazon, there were many one-star reviews.

Here are some of the unkind things that people wrote about this iconic book.

“So bad I want my money back.”

“Void of all substance”

“A very large letdown”

“Worst romantic novel I’ve ever read”

And there were pages more.

I’m in complete shock.

What if You Hate the Book?

I’m not going to lie and say that I have loved every book I’ve ever read. There have been more than a few that were truly terrible.

However, I have always tried to maintain some sense of respect for the artist. I also take into account the time and effort that went into writing and editing the book.

I’m an eternal optimist, so if there is anything good I can cling to, I’m unlikely to give less than a 2-star rating. If there is nothing good, generall I write nothing.

The two books listed above are from master storytellers. How can people be so negative about them?

Did You Finish the Book?

A common thread among many of the bad reviews was that the reader did not finish the book. To me, those reviews should be removed by Amazon or at least marked incomplete.

The other disappointing thing was that the reviewers spewed forth their contempt but had nothing to back up their words. None of them could point to any part of the book that deserved the poor review or what specifically made the writing poor.

Shame on you people.

We Need To Do Better

Unfortunately, in this age where self-publishing has never been easier, quite a few low-quality books are finding their way into the marketplace. If you come across one of those books, yes, it’s okay to state it was of poor quality.

However, if you do so, be sure to list the specifics as to your poor review. Try to keep in mind how much work the author, his editor, and any support staff put into producing that book. Does it really merit a one-star, or are you being overly critical?

My grandmother always said, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, then you shouldn’t say anything.”

If your issue is just that you didn’t like the way a book ended or the genre, then that is no excuse to write a bad review. The problem is more likely you, and you are not being objective.

At the very least, write your review and then wait a day or two to post it. If you still feel like the emotion and sentiment of what you wrote are accurate after a few days, then go ahead and post it.

Authors live and die based on reviews. Those who have grown to the higher ranks such as John Grisham, Nicholas Sparks, or Stephenie Meyer, have established brands and are not as severely impacted by several bad reviews.

For debut and fresh authors, though, your negative comments could be career-killing, or at the very least dream-killing.

Please do better. Authors work hard and deserve to be treated better. You can do better.

Have you left a terrible review for a book that wasn’t truly terrible? Then please, do the right thing. Go back and edit or delete that review.

The world of authors thank you.

Until next time, keep fighting.

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